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Columbus Installs Bike Box With Mixed Results

The City of Columbus is trying some new stuff with our bike infrastructure, most notable of which is the test of a bike box at the corner of North Broadway and Milton - the street route for the Olentangy Multi-Use Trail between Clinton-Como park and Whetstone Park.

The intended use of the bike box is to eliminate the risk of the "right-hook" accident, in which a cyclist who is attempting to ride straight through an intersection in a bike lane is cut off or hit by a right-turning car, because the car was not paying attention to traffic in the bike lane. When traffic is stopped by the red light here, cars are supposed to stop behind the thick white line at the bottom of the green bike box, and bikes are to be allowed to ride up the right (in the green bike lane) and stop in front of the cars in the bike box.

It's an interesting solution to a common problem. Bike lanes are considered by many as dangerous because they invite the right-hook problem. Technically, a car is supposed to pull INTO a bike lane to make a right turn, looking to the right to make sure the lane is clear before doing so. But, obviously, most motorists (and especially motorists in Columbus, where bike lanes are not widely available) don't know this. So the bike box at this intersection, which has considerably more bike traffic than most places in town due to its nature as the bike-trail-connector, seems justified.

However... as this video taken recently by one of Columbus's League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructors shows, many people (bicyclists and motorists alike) have no clue how to use it.

It's very obvious from this video that the simple fact of using engineering to create improvements is not enough. Cars park in the bike box, riders ride up the right when the light is green and cars are trying to turn, and cyclists still swerve off to the right to cross North Broadway in the crosswalk.

Evaluation – Public agencies: Measurement of the effects of the other Es using relevant research methods and testing.

The bike box measure is a use of "Engineering", and arguably "Encouragement." But it totally ignores the measures of "Education" - no one really knows how to use it - and "Enforcement" - no one appears to be monitoring this new measure to make sure it's used properly. And, arguably, it goes AGAINST the idea of "Equality" - it's putting the cyclists ahead of cars instead of making them equal by having the bikes line up as part of traffic.

It's an interesting idea, to be sure. And technically, it's capable of reducing the problem of right hooks. But it's not being implemented properly to do that very thing. Neither motorists nor bicyclists seem to have a handle on how to use it. It's clear that following all six E's is crucial for anything to be improved for cyclists.

Comments

The bike box “works” (so to speak) in the traffic light red phase, during the yellow or green phase, it fails just like any other bike lane. Here a is simple animation: Why “bike-boxes” fail http://cycledallas.blogspot.com/2009/08/why-bike-boxes-fail.html

The example uses a large truck, but a utility, delivery truck or SUV with large blind spots or impatient driver will work against any naïve bike box or bike lane user.

I think it's a matter of "horses for courses". Here in Melbourne, Australia we have many bike boxes. Their intention is to provide a safe space for cyclists to get ahead of cars, when the lights are red, so that the cyclists can be seen and not run over. They are not intended to provide protection from cars turning - just a headstart at the lights.

When there is a long line of traffic and I've cruised up alongside them on the inside lane, a bike box gives me welcome protection when the lights change to green.

danc - This is great stuff - I've seen the CycleDallas video before but totally forgot about it when I wrote the post. I have more to say on this issue and will share that in a new post.

Duncan - while in my heart I agree that cyclists and pedestrians need to be put first over cars, we're not quite at the point yet from a mindset of proper, safe vehicle management. I tend to be of the vehicularist mindset, and feel that bikes "fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles" (to paraphrase John Forrester). Adding infrastructure to put cyclists out of the way of cars is not the healthiest way to go, for anyone.

The Dispatch report that Columbus Rides Bikes shared on Facebook today is entitled "More crashes come with more bicycle traffic on dedicated lanes," and discusses the new lanes and the number of accidents that have happened there. None of these accidents/crashes has been fatal.

So... you can read the article and get the statistics. Here's a summary of them, though, with a quote from the article:
...the number of crashes has jumped. Between 2012 and 2015, there were five crashes involving bicycles on Summit between Hudson and East 5th Avenue.…

In a move that has left quite a few people stranded in Columbus, the ride-sharing company Car2Go has announced today that they're pulling out of the local market as of May 31.

car2go is saddened to announce that we have made the difficult decision to suspend our operations in Columbus as of May 31. Read why here: https://t.co/gRSibUhotB
— car2go Columbus (@car2goColumbus) May 24, 2018
This has got me more than a little pissed off and very inconvenienced.

There's no doubt - Car2Go improved the quality of my family's life for the past few years while they were active in town. As a one-car family where I rode my bike and took the bus most days, Car2Go filled in the gap nicely when we needed that extra set of wheels to get ourselves places.

Here's the news they sent out via their website today:

HELLO,
We’re writing to let you know that after careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to discontinue car2go service in Columbus, effective May 31, 2018.
In 201…

Yes, the City of Columbus has an iPhone app. And an Android App, if you're so inclined.

It's actually been out for a couple of years now, and it gives locations of city services and the like. I've not mentioned the thing here on Carless Columbus in the past because, frankly, I haven't found it all that useful (and if the features I'm talking about have actually been part of the app in the past, I apologize, I just discovered them recently).

But, I'm happy to say that's changed. The app now has a link to the Columbus 311 service line where you can file service requests with the city to get things fixed! This includes issues like potholes, requesting bike racks, and a multitude of other issues (not all bike- or even traffic-related). So you need never worry about forgetting to file a request to have a pothole fixed again - just pull over (PLEASE) and file your claim as you find the pothole in question, or see a great spot for a bike rack, or whatever.…